Apparatus fob controlling railway



(Np Model.) 3 Sheets$heet- 1.

J.-T. HAMBAY.

APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING RAILWAY APPLIANCES BY ELECTRICITY.

No. 308,494. I Patented Nov. 25, 1884.

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(No Model.) 3 SheetsSheet- 2. J. T. HAMBAY. APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLINGRAILWAY APPLIANCES BY ELECTRICITY.

Patented Nov. 25, 1884.

'INVENTOR Y James 1'. Hawzay N. PETERS. Fhaio-Ulhngnphdr. wasmnwn. o c.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

J. T. HAMBAY.

APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING RAILWAY APPLIANCES BY ELECTRICITY.

No. 808,494. Patented Nov. 25, 1884.

WITNESSES INVENTOR Jazzzes jfflflmlfy, 60 BY ATTORNEYS N PETERS,Pholfl'limographar, Waslungiun. v.1;

Un rnn STATES PATENT pr cier,

JAMES T. HAMBAY, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE UNIONSWITCH AND SIGNAL COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING'RAILWAY APPLIANCES BY ELECTRICITY.

SPECIPICATIDN forming part of Letters Patent No. 308,494. dated November1884- Application filed April 8, 1884. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Janus T. HAMBAY, a citizen of the United States,residing in Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inApparatus for Controlling RailwayAppliances by Electricity, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to apparatus employed for actuating movable railwayappliances such as signals, locks, switch-rails, or any movable portionwhatever of a railway superstructure, upon which the safety of passingtrains directly or indirectly depends.

The object of the invention is to provide means for normally actuating amovable railway appliancesuch, for example, as a visual or semaphoresignaleither by hand or by any convenient power, and combining therewithmeans whereby the position of such appliance may either be reversed orcaused to remain in its normal position by the action of independentcontrolling devices actuated by means of electricity from one or morepoints at a greater or less distance therefrom.

In illustration of myinvention I have shown a movable semaphore-signalor other equivalent device and a system of levers and connecting-rodscapable of being actuated in any convenient manner when it is desired toplace the signal in a position to indicate safety, and in interposing inthis system a device which couples sections of the same together bymeans of a latch or detent and an electromagnet controlling the same.Vhenever the electro-magnet is vitalized the latch, by virtue of itsattractive force, is held in position to connect the two sections of themechanical or? ganization for actuating the signal, and to cause the oneto move with the other; but when, on the other hand, the electromagnetis not vitalized the latch will readily yield to the force exerted uponit through the actuated portion or section of the mechanical system forraising the signal, and will'not cause the other and now detachedsection to move. The signal itself is attached to this lastnamed portionof the systennwhile the power which actuates the signal is appliedthrough the other section.

The elcctro-magnet hereinbefore referred to is designed to be includedin a normally-closed electric circuit, which circuit is intended. to beextended to the various points from which it may be desired to controlthe signal or render it inoperative so far as giving an indication ofsafety is concerned. By interrupting this circuit or by short-circuitingthe battery by those skilled in the art without further explanation.

In the accompanying drawings two methods of carrying out my invention,differing somewhat from each other in detail, are illustrated.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of one form of device, and Fig. 2 is aside elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section ofthis device, and Fig. 4 illustrates the par ticular method of applyingit to a semaphoresignal. Figs. 5 and 6 are respectively afront and aside elevation of a modified form of the invention illustrated in Figs.1, 2, 3, and 4.

Referring to the drawings, A represents a suitable support or frame,which is designed to be rigidly secured to any suitable station arystructure.

Within the frame A, mounted in suitable guides a a, is avertically-movable plate, 13, carrying upon a horizontal projection, b,an electr'o-magnet, O. The electro-magnet O is provided with anarmature, D, which is pivoted at one end to the movable plate B, as seenat d. WVhen the electro-magnet O is vitalized, the armature D will beheld firmly against and in immediate contact with the poles of themagnet in the position shown in full lines in the drawings. hen,-however, the electro-magnet 0 is demagnetized, the armature D will,under the influence of sufficient force, be drawn away from the poles ofthe magnet and into the vertical position shown in dotted lines. For thepurpose, however, of preventing the armature D from remaining in thisvertical position when not held there by a positive force, a spring, E,is so placed as to bear against the face opposite that confronting theelectro-magnet. This spring serves to prevent the armature fromremaining in a position back of its center, and thrusts it forward sofar that it tends to fall toward the poles of the electro-magnet at alltimes by the action of gravity.

The respective terminals of the coils of the elect-romagnet G areconnected through con-- ductors l and 2 with suitable screw-posts, f andg, which are mounted upon an insulated plate, F. The plate F carriessuitable metallic contact-plates, 71, which are pressed by spiralsprings i against two rods, H and I, respectively, extending upon oneside of the supporting-plate A. The rods H and I are insulated from eachother and from the supporting-plate A, and they are provided withsuitable binding-posts, J and K, respectively. By means of these bindingposts two conductors may be placed in electrical connection with therods, and thus with the conductorsl and 2and with the respectiveterminals of the coils of the electro-magnet (l, and these connectionswill be continued even while the plate B and the insulated plate F aremoved up and down in their supports, since the contactplates willcontinue to slide along and to make contact with the rods H and l. r

. Supported in the plate B is a second movable plate, L, which isprovided wit-h a slot or aperture, Z, through which the latch orarmature D is intended to extend. So long as the electro-magnet remainsvitalized the a'rma ture is held by attraction in contact with its poleswith sufficient power to resist any force which it may be necessary toapply to the plate L in order to actuate a semaphore or other signal,since that force will be applied through to the armature at a point veryclose to its fulcrum, while the electro-magnets act through aconsiderable leverage. XVhile the armature is in this position the plateL'therefore remains securely locked to the plate B by reason of thecontact of the upper end of the slot Zwith the armature D near its pivotd, and if the plate B be moved vertically the plate Lwill necessarily becarried along with it. When, however, the electro -magnet 0 becomesdemagnetized the armature will. instantly be drawn upward by themovement of the plate B and the two portions of the apparatus will bemechanically disconnected.

The application of my improved device to the operation ofasemaphore-signalis effected as follows: The entire mechanism which hasbeen described is intended to form a link in a connecting-rod,throughwhich motion is trans mitted to operate the signal. Thus the plate L isconnected by a rod, I, with a movable signalblade or semaphore-arm, M,while the plate B,.on .the other hand, is connected by means of a rod,P, with a suitable system of levers, by which the necessary power isapplied to actuate the signal-blade. Thus if the blade M is required tostand normally in a horizontal position by the action of acounterbalance when it is desired to indicate danger and to be drawndownward through the agency of the lever and connecting-rod to indicatesafety, then the device will. be operated in precisely the usual mannerof such apparatus so long as the electro-magnet 0 remains vitalized; butwhenever the electromagnet is demagnetized by the interruption of thecircuit traversing its coils or by the short circuiting of the batterynormally connected therewith, then, although the system of actuatinglevers and rods may be actuated, yet the signal-blade M will remaininthe horizontal position, for the reason that the mechanical connectionbetween the movable plates L and B has been interrupted. The blade M, orother equivalent signal device which may be employed, is compelled bymeans of a counter-balance or other like device to automatically moveinto position to indicate danger when not positively held in position toindicate safety by the downward pull of the. rod 1? acting through theplates B and L. If, therefore, for any reason, it is desired at adistant signaling-point to render the safety-signal inoperativethat isto say, to prevent the semaphore-arm from being placed in a position toindicate safety, or if already in such position to cause it to move intoanother position to indicate dangerit will be necessary only at suchpoint either to interrupt the circuit leading to the binding-posts J andK or to short-circuit the battery. The electro-magnet G will thereuponbe demagnetized, and its armature instantly released, and thereafter,although the plate B may be moved by the operator for the purpose ofplacing the signal in the position to indicate safety, yet the plate Lwill remain unmoved and the signal will remain at danger. The operatoris enabled by this means to discover that for some reason the track isobstructed, and appropriate means may thereupon be taken, if necessary,for discovering the cause.

Beferrin g now to the modification illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6, Brepresents a movable plate, and O the electro-magnet, which, in thisinstance, is .placed horizontally. Applied to this electro-magnet is anarmature, D, which is pivoted to a suitable bracket, (1, extending fromthe plate B.

At the upper end of the armature-lever D is carried a catch, D forreceiving a latch, D", which is designed to normally couple or lock theplat-e L to the plate B, in the same manner as hereinbefore describedwith reference to the armature D. WVhen the electromagnet C isvitalized, the armature D is held in the position shown in the drawings,against the latch D will therefore be free to be thrown upward when theplate B is carried downward by its actuating-levers. The plate B maythen be actuated independently of the plateL, in precisely the same'manner as described with reference to Figs. 1, 3, and 4.

It is not necessary in every instance to employ the rods H and I,described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2, as flexible conductors may beattached, as in Figs. 5 and 6, directly to binding-posts G and H uponthe bracket (1, and conductors 3 and 4 may lead from the respectiveterminals of the electro-magnet O to those binding-posts,

I claim as my invention l. The combination, substantially ashereinbefore set forth, with a movable plate, of an electro-magnetcarried thereon, a second plate movably supported upon or within thefirstnamed plate, a latch or detent for coupling the second with thefirst named plate, and an electro-magnet which, when vitalized, retainssaid latch in a position to so couple said plates,

and which,when demagnetized, permits said latch'to uncouple said plates.

2. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of avertically movable electro-magnet, a movable plate, a latch or detentfor coupling said plate with said electro-magnct, andmeans,'substantially such as described, for holding said latch inposition to so couple said plate with said electromagnet while thelatter is Vitalized.

3. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of avertically-movable electro-magnet andsupport for the same, of avertically-movable plate, and a horizontal latch or detent for couplingsaid plate to the support of said electrdmagnet, which latch ismaintained in a horizontal position through the influence of theelectro-magnet when vitalized, thereby engaging said plate, and which ispermitted to be moved out of the path of said plate when saidelcctro-magnet is demagnetized.

5. The combination, substantially as here inbefore set forth, of averticallymovable plate, an electro-magnet carried thereon, a secondplate, a signal or other movable portion of a railwaysuperstrnctureattachedto one of said plates, and an armature for said electro-magnet,which armature, when attracted to the poles of said electro-magnet,couples said plates with each other, and which when released from saidelectro-magnet detaches the one plate from the other.

6. Thecombinatiou, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of avertically-movable electro-magnet, a vertically-movable support for thesame, a signal or other movable portion of a railway superstructure, asystem of actuating-levers, an armature which serves, when attracted tothe poles of said electromagnet, to couple said levers with saidvertically-movable support, two insulated c011- ducting-rods, slidingcontacts applied to said rods, and conductors leading from therespective terminals of thecoils of said electro-magnet to saidcontacts.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name this 5th day ofApril, A. D. 1884;.

HENRY SNYDER, CALEB H. JACKSON.

